Siege of Kameyaka (1351)

The Siege of Kameyaka occurred in the summer of 1351 when Ashikaga Takauji and his generals Ko no Moronao and Ko no Moroyasu besieged the Yamana clan's capital of Kameyaka in Tamba Province. The Ashikaga forces succeeded in overwhelming the small hilltop town, and the Ikeda broke their alliance with the Ashikaga in response to the fall of their Yamana allies.

Preparations
In 1351, Ashikaga Takauji embarked on a campaign in central Honshu to break out of his isolation in the capital of Kyoto, seeking to take over nearby provinces from the smaller clans and expand the Ashikaga Shogunate. His first target was the Yamana clan of Tamba Province, as they had a small army that would be unable to resist his larger forces. With 645 troops, he marched on the Tamba capital of Kameyaka, and the Yamana daimyo Yamana Tokiuji decided to retreat to the confines of the town, gathering a total of 690 troops. The Ashikaga army launched an assault immediately after encircling the city, planning to quickly take over Kameyaka.

Siege
The Ashikaga deployed half of their force to attack the left flank and the other half to attack the right, with the cavalry of Takauji and his generals Ko no Moronao and Ko no Moroyasu providing support. The Ashikaga troops engaged the Yamana troops in melee, and the Ashikaga cavalry charged the defenseless Yamana bow levies while they attempted to fire on the Ashikaga infantry in melee combat. The Yamana archers were slaughtered, and the massacre of the archers caused the demoralized infantry to rout as well. The Ashikaga swordsmen then charged the elderly Yamana Tokiuji and his bodyguards, and Yamana was slain with his last loyal soldiers. The siege of Kameyaka ended in an Ashikaga victory, and the Ashikaga Shogunate proceeded to develop Kameyaka into a city.